Little Tommy was the pride and joy of his parents. He was a little boy, very bright and happy. So with no doubt his parents sent him to kindergarten, and it was certain that he would grow up very well.

At the end of the first week, Tommy brought home pictures he had coloured. His parents were a bit puzzled why his drawings were done in black crayon But they said nothing.

Another week passed and Tommy’s pictures were technically correct and well drawn for a 5-year-old but still in black. His parents thought, perhaps he was colour-blind（色盲的）. So they took him for a check-up.

The doctor told them not to worry. Tommy was healthy in every way. However，the pictures still came home in black. The teacher was contacted and she related that Tommy was the top of her class in everything, very well liked by all of the other children and showed no signs of any problems.

In kindergarten for a month, Tommy’s mother was anxious. She made an appointment with a child psychologist（心理学家）, who did a brain scan for Tommy. His character was well formed, and he was a precocious（超前的）learner. Perhaps he needed more challenging activities.

By Thanksgiving the fridge and various walls and doors of the family home had displayed Tommy’s black pictures, black dogs chasing a black ball in a black field, black houses, black suns, black airplanes, black turkeys, everything black.

Tommy’s grandmother was visiting for the Thanksgiving holiday and noticed all of the black drawings. She immediately asked Tommy, “Why are all of your drawings done in black crayon?”

To which he replied, “Because Grandma, by the time the crayon box gets down to my end of the table, there are only black crayons left.”

   Yesterday I was a bit early for an appointment so I stopped in at McDonald's for a coffee. I think they make the best coffee. Two very pleasant young girls were working at the counter and the customer ahead was impossible to please!

The young girl was sweaty and nearly in tears. I only wanted coffee but I liked lots of milk in it. I really didn't want to be difficult so I said,“You go ahead and add lots of milk and if it's not enough, I'll ask for more. ” She smiled. She made a perfect coffee. I left her two pieces of candy as a tip.

I went to her supervisor and let the leader know how well she handled such a difficult customer ahead of me. More of that needs to be done for young people starting out - probably the first job. '

I remember how hard it was. I would have run away crying and quit, if it had been me yesterday serving those customers. I'd still be crying too.

Comments posted by molliecat on July 29

READERS' COMMENTS

FayBaby wrote: Customer service can be one of the most difficult and thankless jobs at times. Your expression of appreciation (感激)probably made her day.

Mish wrote: How dear you were to lend support there, dear molliecat. Love you ! kiwicat wrote: My sons both have dreadful(糟透了的)first job stories of how rude and demanding customers can be. I now always encourage a new cashier or someone to do job training. Thanks for the reminder(提醒物)that we can be more tolerant and thankful to those who offer front-line customer service. mindyjourney wrote: Thank you for helping calm the young worker with your appreciation and thoughtfulness,So many good lessons you have earned are shared. Blessings, dear molliecat.

Anvitha Vijay，who is only nine years old，has built two educational apps. One is Smartkins Animals，which helps many 【小题1】（child）identify more than 100 animals and 【小题2】 other is Rainbow Colors，which teaches kids colors.

With the help of YouTube videos，the young girl from Melbourne，Australia，learned codes（编码）at age 7 all by 【小题3】（she）. Soon，she was trying her hand at making apps.“When I first got my iPad，I 【小题4】（attract）immediately by all the apps on it，”she told TFK.“It wasn't long 【小题5】 I wanted to create my own.”

Anvitha's skills won her a scholarship to attend a big tech conference hosted by Apple in San Francisco，California. There，she got tips from the professionals and went to workshops 【小题6】 she learned about the latest software for app building. All that training led to an idea for a third app. This one，called GoalsHi，inspires kids 【小题7】（develop）good habits.

Anvitha's goal is to keep on 【小题8】 (create) technology that helps kids learn while they are having fun. But what's even more 【小题9】 (importance) to her is that the world sees the power of technology in kids' hands.“The more training we get in tech at an early age,”she says,“the 【小题10】 (good) chance we will have of becoming champions who will one day change the world.”

Back when I was still in elementary school，my parents were always talking about a 【小题1】（compete）of some sort called the Model United Nations（MUN）.It was supposed to be awesome，and only those whose English was really good could have the ability 【小题2】（join）in.

As for me，I always wanted to be a representative of a country and fight 【小题3】 its rights and benefits. It would be so cool to sit in a huge hall and to fight a battle without smoke. 【小题4】（fortunate），I had to wait till I got in middle school to attend it，【小题5】 there was no MUN in my elementary school. So that kind of enthusiasm【小题6】（explain）why the first thing I did when I got in middle school was to sign up for the MUN. The preparation of the meeting was long and 【小题7】（bore）.I had to sit there listening to a fellow chairman's speech about the MUN，【小题8】 wasted my homework time. I didn't learn anything at all，mainly because I was busy denying him rather than listening.

Anyway，this morning，I was supposed to go to my first MUN meeting as the representative of the Republic of Ireland. But I forgot where it happens. So my dad and I ran around my school for an hour before finally knowing that we had come to 【小题9】 wrong place. What was awkward（令人尴尬的）was that a bunch of junior 【小题10】（pupil）were having their Adulthood Ceremony.

The Italian dinners we had every Sunday when I was a boy were feasts fit for a king. There 【小题1】（be）loaves of Italian bread ready to be eaten. They were great with butter and even 【小题2】（good）when you dipped them in the sauce（调味汁）. My grandma，【小题3】 we called“Nanny”，would always bake them a day ahead so they would be ready. I remember watching her hands make the dough（面团）. I would often ask to help only because I wanted to have 【小题4】 bite of the dough before she placed it in the pan to bake.

One day I 【小题5】（foolish）asked Nanny why she didn't just buy bread at the store 【小题6】（save）time. “Because it is not as good，”she said in 【小题7】（she）thick Italian accent. Then she laughed，smiled，and gave me a piece of bread to eat.

Nanny was right. Today I buy my bread at the store and it isn't as good. It is factory-made and lacks all the taste，【小题8】（warm），and love that Nanny put into hers. Store-bought happiness is a sad substitute for homemade joy. If you want lasting love，permanent peace，and 【小题9】（end）joy，then you will have to bake them 【小题10】your own.